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View Full Version : Yamaha RD250E/350 Restoration Project



PirateJafa
13th November 2011, 21:48
She's been neglected - WOF and rego ran out in mid 2009, as I didn't have the money to keep her roadworthy. Luckily I now have both money and some time, so it's time to remedy this.

Originally a '78 RD250E, though now with a 350cc top-end and carbs, not entirely sure from which model.



How can I check the oil pump works? I see a line going in from the oil tank, two lines going to the carbs, and the throttle cable - how does the pump actually function though? Edit: Turns out it might be connected to the crank, ahhar! Will have to investigate further.
How can I check the electrics are running while she is stripped down? I have no idea if I will need to order any electrickery parts - I see things are available like alternator bushings, ignition condensors etc. Unfortunately I am terrible with electrics, and these words mean very little to me. Is it possible for me to acquire some sort of tester and fumble my way through?
The stock master cylinder appears to be perished and cracked on the outside, but still seemed to work - the bike currently has a braided brake line on the front, I imagine that a new mastercylinder from a different model would still work as long as it fitted the line end?


Will be doing a big Ebay order of brake/fork/oil seals, new rear shocks, chain, sprockets etc in December/January, but would rather not miss ordering anything that I might actually need. Should be getting my hands on a workshop and/or Haynes manual fairly soon, which should help out too.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Will likely update this with more questions as I come across them.

Supertwin Don
14th November 2011, 13:26
Nice looking little bike - I'm not a great fan of 2 strokes, but I did like the RD series. Something to consider when looking for fork seals etc. is that many of the late 70's early 80's RD and XS cycle parts are pretty much interchangeable - brake master cylinders, calipers, discs etc. You can sometimes swap entire assemblies - I had an XS250 swing arm in the back of an early XS650 - it was about 30mm longer.

geoffm
14th November 2011, 20:38
More of an LC man, but the old air cooled RDs are neat. THey are also dead simple to fix.
I assume you have seen http://www.aircooled-rd.com/ - there is the parts manual there.
Also useful:
http://home.comcast.net/~todwatts/motorcycle_7.htm

There is a lot of info in India for RD350s as they were made over there after Yamaha finished with them. so this might be useful
http://www.it.iitb.ac.in/~nishant/RD350_Related_Links.html
and
http://www.manualedereparatie.info/en/download/yamaha-ds7-1972-rd-250-1973-r5c-1972-rd-350-1973-Service-manual.html
geoff